A lot of the enclosures here were made up locally — an aluminium frame welded or riveted together by a fabricator, with glass cut to fit. Those served a purpose and they are now failing, and it is worth understanding why, because the reasons explain what a replacement should be.
What a site-made enclosure gets wrong
A fabricated frame is built to the opening, which is its strength, and it is assembled from sections never designed to hold glass in a wet room.
So there is usually no proper drainage channel, no designed seal, and the glass sits in a rebate filled with silicone.
Water gets into the frame and cannot get out, which corrodes it from inside, and the silicone is doing a job it was never meant to do alone. That is why these fail at the base first, and it is not a fault of the person who made it.
Why the glass is usually the part worth checking
In a site-made enclosure the glass may not be toughened, because it was cut to size on site and toughened glass cannot be cut once made.
That matters: ordinary glass breaks into sharp shards rather than blunt granules.
So when we look at one of these we check what the glass actually is. If it is not toughened, that alone is a reason to replace rather than repair, and it is worth knowing regardless of what you decide to do.
What a proper replacement changes
A purpose-made enclosure uses sections designed for a wet environment: a drainage path through the frame, a designed seal rather than silicone alone, and toughened glass throughout.
It costs more than another fabricated frame and it lasts several times as long.
We will still fit to your measured opening, so nothing is lost in the fit. What changes is what happens to the water that gets into the frame, which is the thing that ended the last one.
How the job works
- Tell us about the jobSend a few photos, rough sizes and what you need. Use WhatsApp or the form. For a repair, a short video of the door moving helps a lot.
- We call you back in about 2 minutesWe confirm what you need and a time to visit. Where we can, we give you a rough price on the call.
- We come and measureWe measure the opening and check the walls, floor and ceiling around it. Anything made to size is made to these measurements, so they must be right.
- You get a written priceIt lists each item, with GST as its own line. If anything about the job changes, we tell you before we go ahead.
- We fit itYou approve the price and pay the advance. Our own team fits the work, checks that every door and window opens and closes properly, and clears up. Most jobs are done in 3 to 4 days.
